Army, IAF join search for 2 soldiers missing after Yamuna boat mishap in Haryana | Gurgaon News
YAMUNANAGAR: The search for two Army personnel who went missing after their boat capsized in strong currents in the Yamuna river near Hathnikund barrage in Yamunanagar district on Tuesday has been intensified, with the Army, Indian Air Force, police, SDRF and district administration mounting a full-scale search and rescue operation.The two soldiers of 1 Para SF remained untraced even after more than 24 hours of extensive search efforts. The Army is yet to reveal the identities of the missing soldiers.The incident occurred around 5pm on Tuesday when a boat carrying five Army personnel reportedly moved towards the downstream side of Hathnikund barrage and was caught in strong currents. The boat became trapped in a powerful current near the gates and capsized, sweeping the personnel into the river.PRO Defence, Chandigarh, Shailesh Phaye, said in a statement on Wednesday, “On 1-09-2026, during a joint watermanship training at Hathnikund Barrage, a boat got caught into strong currents towards the downstream barrage. The teams made swift efforts to retrieve the boat. However, the boat got stuck in strong eddies around the sluice gates and capsized resulting in the crew getting swept away by the strong currents. Two members of the crew are presently missing.”“A full-scale search and rescue mission is underway by the Indian Army, Indian Air Force, local police and civil administration. All available resources are being employed to locate and recover the missing soldiers,” added PRO Phaye.While three soldiers managed to swim to safety, the other two were swept away by the strong current and remain missing.Following the incident, the administration stopped the release of water from Hathnikund barrage into the Western Jamuna Canal (WJC) to facilitate the search operation. Routes from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh leading to the barrage were also closed as part of the rescue and security arrangements.Army personnel have been deployed in groups along nearly 15km of the WJC between Hathnikund barrage and Dadupur head, monitoring the watercourse, bridges, canal falls and adjoining areas.Two Army helicopters have also been conducting aerial searches and making repeated sorties over the WJC, but the missing personnel have not yet been located. Ground teams comprising Army personnel, SDRF, police and district administration officials are conducting searches along the canal banks, bridges and other vulnerable points.An ambulance and medical team have been kept on standby at Hathnikund barrage round the clock.Pratap Nagar SHO Rohtas Kumar said, “Teams from the Army, SDRF, police and district administration were continuing efforts to trace the two missing personnel.”
